Tom Hardy has paid an emotionally-charged tribute to his dog and ‘best friend’, Woodstock – and hearts have broken everywhere!
The actor rescued Woody Woodstock Yamaduki Hardy after he found him as an 11-week-old stray on the side of the road while he was shooting the film, Lawless.
In a message on the Tom Hardy Dot Org Tumblr page, Tom revealed Woody had died earlier this week after a ‘very hard and short’ six month battle with polymyositis, an inflammatory muscle disorder.
He said:
I don’t normally speak out about family and friends but this is an unusual circumstance.
Woody affected so many people in his own right, so with great respect to his autonomy and as a familiar friendly face to many of you, it is with great great sadness a heavy heart that I inform you that after a very hard and short 6 month battle with an aggressive polymyostisis, Woody passed away, two days ago.
He was only aged 6. He was far too young to leave us and we at home are devastated by his loss I am ultimately grateful for his loyal companionship and love and it is of some great comfort that he is no longer suffering.
Above all I am completely gutted. The world for me was a better place with him in it and by my side.
To the bestest friend ever. To me and to a family who loved him beyond words and whom he loved without doubt more than I have ever known.
Tom recalled how he stopped the car, he remembered how it was ‘pitch black’ outside so he used his phone to ‘light the road’ in case a car passed and couldn’t see him.
He said he ‘watched this thing running towards the highway’ where there were cars and lorries and how he remembered seeing what were Woody’s ‘floppy ears bouncing towards the traffic’.
He added:
That dog’s had it, I thought. I couldn’t make out how big it was what breed it was. Nothing, just those two ears flapping away above a frantic bundle. Hurtling away from us towards impending doom that was for certain.
Whatever it was had no road sense and was tearing away. I panicked a little because I couldn’t help it had no name to shout and now it was close to the freeway.
I put my fingers to my mouth and I whistled. Loud as I could. The whistle pierced the black. And It stopped the dog dead in its tracks.
Then it turned and set eyes on me, in one swift movement and the dog decided to run straight at me in the darkness all flashes of teeth and snarling and shrieking. Fuck this, I thought, that’s not a fkn dog. What am I doing?
It ran straight at me and hit me around the legs I couldn’t see but I could hear the distress and I reached down thinking ‘I’m going to get bitten’.
It was so noisy, shrieking. I snatched out expecting to feel teeth and grabbed a fist full of soft neck fur, lifted what was actually an incredibly light weight up to my face and shone my phone at it.
It was a very small bundle, literally sagging from its neck fur, with two big brown eyes staring straight into mine. Terrified and utterly quiet.
Tom then took Woody back to the car and remembers how he came up with the name Woodstock.
He said:
When I got back to the car and sat in my seat he lay on my shoulder and fell asleep. And snored, clearly he’d been through a lot. And now the ordeal was seemingly over enough for him to relax. Jessica [Chastain] asked me ‘was he a girl or a boy?’
‘It’s a boy’, I said.
‘How do you know?’
‘Erm… I can feel his Woodstock’. Great !!! let’s call him Woodstock!!!
And so it was. He was covered in dog shit. Now so was I. And we rode and We took him straight to the pet store to clean him up and buy him well things.., lots of things things dogs need and we walked the aisles the three of us letting him
Choose toys and his lead and his collar. I’ll never forget that night. It was wonderful. One minute he was almost dead next terrified. Then picked up by strangers then after he had a power nap in the car, the next he’s walking with his bandy leg John Wayne strut under the strip lighted aisles of this massive pet store happy and playful.
He wore a red bandana that night and from then on and drank religiously from the toilet throughout the night despite having a few bowls of water in the apartment he was every inch a survivor.
Finishing his post, Tom wrote:
Woody was the bestest of journey companions we ever could dream of having. Our souls intertwined forever.
He was special bro, a shining example of man’s best friend. He burnt very very bright and, those that burn very bright sometimes burn half as long.
Thank you Woody for choosing to find us. We will love you and be with you and you with us forever. Never ever ever forgotten. Your Boy tom xxx
I love you beyond words. To the moon and back again and again to infinity and beyond. Run with Max now and the Angels. I will see you when I get there.
With all of me I love you. Always. Thank you for your love, beautiful boy.
…Cue heartbreak, everywhere.
